


Lying by Omission

by e_cat



Category: Raven Cycle - Maggie Stiefvater
Genre: Closeted Character, Hiding the truth from Gansey, I make myself laugh, M/M, Ronan is an evil genius
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-26
Updated: 2014-12-26
Packaged: 2018-03-03 14:38:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,608
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2854436
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/e_cat/pseuds/e_cat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Adam considers Ronan's proficiency at lying by omission. It is far more useful and has far fewer limitations than he realized. Also, he is somewhere very interesting as he thinks about this.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Lying by Omission

**Author's Note:**

> This probably isn't all that great, but it gets out a few ideas that I've been thinking about. So, I'm sorry if it's terrible.
> 
> Characters belong to Maggie Stiefvater.

Ronan had a lot of practice with lying by omission, if Adam really thought about it. Adam currently had an abundance of time with which he could do nothing _but_ think about it.

Ronan had been lying by omission for his entire life. He had kept his father’s secret, and he had kept it when it had become his own. If someone had asked him if he could take things out of dreams, he probably would have said yes. But no one ever asked the right questions.

Or maybe that wasn’t quite it. Even when asked direct questions, Ronan could avoid giving an answer by staying silent or making a sarcastic remark. Or he could tell the truth in such a tone that no one would ever consider that it was anything but ridiculous.

And Ronan had spent at least a few years hiding his sexuality by not saying it, even to himself. Ronan practiced omission on a daily basis, about anything from his personal life to the world of magic that their group had found itself entangled in. So it really shouldn’t have surprised Adam just how good Ronan was at hiding the truth without lying. But it still did. It was all Adam could think of at the moment.

Ronan was currently watching Gansey gather his wits in the main room. Adam’s current task was to stay still, and stay quiet. This was a rather difficult task. If he was any more shocked by Ronan’s skill, he might have lost control of himself. And that would mean that he would be laughing uncontrollably right now.

It wasn’t just that he was _literally_ in the closet right now, which would have been entertaining enough on its own; it was that he was half-dressed in _Ronan’s_ closet, which was laughable in that it seemed impossible and Adam couldn’t quite understand how it had happened. And _Ronan_ – Adam stifled a nervous laugh.

Adam had never realized how much one could hide without telling a single lie. Lying was a crutch, and it was one that most people were perfectly happy using. But, Ronan, being Ronan, had at some point decided that it would be far more interesting to make it through life without lies. Ronan had always so despised the idea of being like other people, especially Declan.

But Adam still couldn’t believe that Ronan had kept his presence here hidden from Gansey without a single lie. He just couldn’t wrap his brain around it. He just _had_ to replay the events of the day again in his mind.

It had been a little after noon when Adam had come to Monmouth. Gansey, as Ronan had promised, had been nowhere to be seen. Neither of them were quite ready to explain this relationship to themselves, let alone Gansey.

It had been easy to get into it, as it had been since the first time Ronan had kissed him. They had gone into Ronan’s room and closed the door, kissing their way to the bed. It had made Adam nervous, because they hadn’t really discussed how far they were going to go with this. Adam hadn’t been sure how far _he_ wanted to go, but he had been too dizzy with Ronan’s lips against his to think about it then.

They had dropped to sit on the bed, and before Adam could figure out what Ronan was doing, both of their shirts had settled on the floor. This hadn’t been entirely unexpected, as they had kissed without shirts before, but it was new enough that it fascinated them both for a good amount of time.

But then Ronan’s hands had found the top of Adam’s jeans. Ronan had pulled Adam’s button loose before Adam could think, and then he had ripped open the zipper. _That_ had been enough to startle Adam back into his mind.

Adam had gasped. “Wait,” he’d requested, pulling back a little. He wasn’t quite ready for that. Maybe… maybe after a few more shirtless make-out sessions. But he hadn’t been ready right then, in a stolen moment in Ronan’s room. He still didn’t think he was ready, but maybe that was the fear still trickling through his veins.

Ronan had studied him for a long, but he’d seemed to understand. But that period of time had given them the silence they needed to hear when the Pig pulled up outside. If they had still been caught up in each other, they certainly wouldn’t have paid any mind to the noises of the outside world.

Adam had frozen, but Ronan had sprung into action. “No time to leave,” he’d hissed. He had scooped Adam’s shirt and shoes off the floor and shoved them at Adam, who had drifted to his feet. Then Ronan had nudged Adam towards the closet. “Hide in there,” he’d insisted. “I’ll get rid of him. Just try to stay quiet.” Adam had allowed himself to be put into the closet, and he’d watched in stunned silence as Ronan had closed the door.

Only seconds later, just as Ronan had been attempting a pose of relaxation on his bed, Gansey had burst into the room. And that was when the real show had started.

“Do you know where Adam is?” Gansey had asked. “His car is outside.” Adam had cursed the stupidity of their plan; there was no way to explain that, he’d thought. But Ronan had been way ahead of him.

Ronan had sounded dismissive as he replied, “Have you _seen_ his car? That thing is lucky if it ever starts.” And that was true. But the genius was that Ronan had been implying that Adam’s car had broken down in the parking lot without actually telling that lie.

Gansey had sighed. “So where did he go?”

“What makes you think I know? Did you look for him at his place?” Questions. Questions were not lies.

“I looked for him there first,” Gansey had complained. “I have had an incredible idea about the search for Glendower,” he had proclaimed, although Ronan had not asked why he was looking for Adam. “I wanted to find Adam and Jane to explain to all of you at once!”

“So where _is_ Blue, then?” Ronan had asked. Changing the topic was a great way to avoid lying, especially when you did it as well as Ronan did. When Ronan changed the topic, it seemed like he didn’t care one way or the other _what_ they were talking about.

Gansey had sighed again. “I called her. She says she needs some time to finish up with something or other.”

“So go pick her up.” It had been a fantastic suggestion, getting Gansey out of here.

“But what about Adam?”

Ronan had grunted as if to say: _This again?_ “What _about_ Adam?”

“Well, where’s he gone?”

There had been a long period of silence in which Ronan was probably giving Gansey a look like: _I already told you I didn’t know._ Expressions didn’t count as lies.

“Well, do you have any ideas where he might be?” Gansey had demanded eventually.

Ronan had sighed, like: _We’ve already been through this._ “The garage has tools to fix cars. So do a lot of stores.” These statements had been true, but they hadn’t had any connection to what Ronan knew about where Adam was.

“Or maybe he just wants a fucking pizza,” Ronan had continued. _Maybe_ could make anything into a non-lie. Besides, Ronan had had no knowledge as to whether or not Adam wanted a pizza. And, actually, pizza had started to sound like a really good idea.

“So where do I look for him?” Gansey had sounded exasperated.

“Just go pick up Blue,” Ronan had suggested again, although he had made it sound casual. “I’m sure he’ll be here when you get back.” Now _that_ actually was the truth.

Gansey had grumbled to himself. “I need to kill some time before I go to get Blue, and I’ve got to find a book for some additional information. Do you think you could help me look?”

“Do I look like a fucking librarian?” Gansey had sighed and left the room, and Ronan had closed the door behind him. Then he had opened the closet for a second, just long enough to whisper to Adam’s wide eyes, “Stay here. I’ll come get you when he’s gone.” Then Ronan had closed the door again, presumably put on a shirt, and left the room, closing the door behind him.

“I thought you weren’t going to help,” Gansey’s voice had drifted in from the main room.

“I’m not,” Ronan had replied. “But someone needs to be here when one of those piles of books falls over on you.” That was probably true, but it wasn’t why Ronan was out there watching Gansey search through his massive collection of books of varying degrees of helpfulness.

And so Adam was still wondering at the power of omission – the ability that Ronan had to lie without actually lying – when the closet opened again. Adam jumped before he realized that it was just Ronan. “He’s gone,” he said, his voice quiet nonetheless.

Adam blinked abnormally, and it wasn’t just the change in lighting. He stepped out of the closet and dropped his shoes; he hadn’t realized that he was still holding them. He shoved his feet into his shoes, and he pulled on his shirt. As he did, he kept eye contact with Ronan as much as possible.

As Ronan led him out to the main room, Adam realized that he, too, was getting pretty good at lying by omission; both of them weren’t saying: _I fucking love you._


End file.
